Notă biografică

Jessie Burton was born in 1982. She studied at Oxford University and the Central School of Speech and Drama, and has worked as an actress and a PA in the City. She now lives in south-east London, not far from where she grew up.

Textul de pe ultima copertă

On
a
brisk
autumn
day
in
1686,
eighteen-year-old
Nella
Oortman
arrives
in
Amsterdam
to
begin
a
new
life
as
the
wife
of
illustrious
merchant
trader
Johannes
Brandt.
But
her
new
home,
while
splendorous,
is
not
welcoming.
Johannes
is
kind
yet
distant,
always
locked
in
his
study
or
at
his
warehouse
office.
But
Nella's
world
changes
when
Johannes
presents
her
with
an
extraordinary
wedding
gift:
a
cabinet-sized
replica
of
their
home.
To
furnish
her
gift,
Nella
engages
the
services
of
a
miniaturist–an
elusive
and
enigmatic
artist
whose
tiny
creations
mirror
their
real-life
counterparts
in
eerie
and
unexpected
ways
.
.
.
Johannes's
gift
helps
Nella
pierce
the
closed
world
of
the
Brandt
household.
But
as
she
uncovers
its
unusual
secrets,
she
begins
to
understand–and
fear–the
escalating
dangers
that
await
them
all.
Only
one
person
seems
to
see
the
fate
that
awaits
them.
Is
the
miniaturist
the
key
to
their
salvation
.
.
.
or
the
architect
of
their
destruction?
Enchanting
and
exquisitely
suspenseful,
The
Miniaturist
is
a
magnificent
story
of
love
and
obsession,
betrayal
and
retribution.

Recenzii

“The
Miniaturist
is
one
of
the
year’s
most
hyped
novels,
and
it’s
easy
to
see
why.
Burton
conjures
every
scent
and
crackle
of
Nella’s
world.
A-”“The
Miniaturist
is
that
rarest
of
things
-
beautifully
written,
yet
also
a
compelling
page-turner.
It’s
haunting,
magical,
and
full
of
surprises,
the
kind
of
book
that
reminds
you
why
you
fell
in
love
with
reading.”‘Utterly
transporting...one
of
those
rare
debut
novels
that
excels
in
every
regard.
The
past
is
brought
to
life
in
potent,
sensory
detail:
one
feels
steeped
in
it.
Burton’s
prose
beguiles
the
reader...My
first
instinct
on
finishing
this
book
was
to
immediately
read
it
again.”“Burton’s
writing
is
expressive
and
descriptive.
While
her
prose
is
rich,
it
does
not
overwhelm
the
story...This
historical
novel
with
its
strong
female
characters
will
appeal
to
those
who
enjoy
the
haunting
undercurrents
of
Carlos
Ruiz
Zafon’s
The
Shadow
of
the
Wind.”“[A]
haunting
debut.”“Jessie
Burton
nimbly
transports
contemporary
social
issues
to
the
17th
century
where
a
costume
drama
rich
in
historical
detail
is
embellished
with
supernatural
intrigue…The
Miniaturist
is
a
late-harvest
summer
delight.”“As
in
Donna
Tartt’s
The
Goldfinch,
the
pleasure
lies
in
giving
in
to
well-wrought
illusions,
and
the
result
is
a
beach
read
with
meat
on
its
bones
-
perfect
for
the
Labor
Day
transition
from
play
to
work.”“Rich
in
17th
century
atmosphere…Debut
novelist
Jessie
Burton
has
a
terrific
subject...
All
those
severe
portraits
of
people
in
dark
clothes
and
starched
white
ruffs,
along
with
those
glossy,
death-scented
still
lifes,
spring
to
life.”“A
standout
portrayal
of
the
wide
range
of
women’s
ingenuity.”“A
fabulously
gripping
read
that
will
appeal
to
fans
of
Girl
With
a
Pearl
Earring
and
The
Goldfinch,
but
Burton
is
a
genuinely
new
voice
with
her
visceral
take
on
sex,
race
and
class...”“This
debut
novel,
set
in
17th-century
Amsterdam,
hits
all
the
marks
of
crossover
success:
taut
suspense,
a
pluck
heroine-
and
a
possibly
clairvoyant
miniature-furniture
designer.”“The
Miniaturist
is
a
masterpiece
of
atmosphere
and
tension
….
The
themes
Burton
explores
are
as
relevant
today
as
they
were
long
ago
….
a
thoroughly
engaging,
beautifully
written
work
of
historical
fiction.”“In
The
Miniaturist,
Burton
uses
a
historical
object
-
the
real
Petronella
Oortman’s
cabinet
house
in
Amsterdam’s
Rijksmuseum
-
as
the
springboard
for
a
fantastically
spun
tale
of
love
and
mystery.
It’s
a
story
that
astutely
reflects
our
own
age’s
obsessions
and
prejudices,
and
it’s
one
not
to
be
missed.”“The
Miniaturist
excels
in
depicting
Amsterdam
and
its
wealthy
upper
class,
and
lovers
of
art
and
of
Amsterdam
will
be
drawn
to
Burton’s
imaginative
story,
which
flows
as
effortlessly
as
water
down
a
canal.”“The
Miniaturist
is
an
impressive
debut…
Burton
has
created
a
world
that,
like
the
cabinet
house,
draws
us
in
until
we
feel
the
dread
and
mystery
and
wonder
that
surround
Nella.”“In
Jessie
Burton’s
atmospheric
debut,
The
Miniaturist,
the
powers
of
love
and
obsession,
sins
and
secrets,
loyalty
and
forgiveness
bind
together
a
cast
of
sympathetic
characters
who
all
have
a
part
to
play
in
a
collectively
chilling
conclusion.”“A
magical,
intricate
marvel
of
perfection…
with
luxurious
prose
that
immerses
the
reader
in
the
cold,
damp
of
Amsterdam…
A
book
that
enchants
from
beginning
to
end.”“A
suspenseful
and
moving
read.”“Seventeenth-century
Amsterdam
comes
alive
in
this
meticulously
researched,
enchantingly
told
tale.”“Burton
gives
her
narrative
the
propulsive
drive
of
a
thriller,
but
her
distinctive
prose
conveys
deeper,
harder
answers
than
a
whodunit.
This
fine
historical
novel
mirrors
the
fullness
of
life,
in
which
growth
and
sorrow
inevitably
are
mingled.”“Jessie
Burton’s
debut
novel…has
all
of
the
trappings
of
a
historical
page-turner:
a
rich
setting
in
17th-century
Amsterdam,
a
plot
inspired
by
an
antique
“cabinet
house”
located
at
the
renowned
Rijksmuseum,
and
a
diverse
cast
of
characters…a
perfect
amount
of
authentic
detail
and
a
plot
that
speeds
along.”“Teen
bride
Nelly
strives
to
connect
with
her
aloof
husband
and
his
spinster
sister,
but
uncovers
secrets
that,
in
intolerant
1686
Amsterdam,
could
mean
death.
It’s
a
tense
tale.”“A
seductive
meditation
on
greed,
power
and
the
tortuous
journey
even
the
well-heeled
must
endure
for
self-possession.
Burton
adroitly
depicts
a
culture
of
contradiction:
a
love
of
affluence
and
indulgence
chafing
against
the
impulse
for
Godfearing
abstinence.”